Working to build a world without Fentanyl deaths

We are a team of researchers, clinicians and biotech executives with a strong track record in substance abuse and CNS with multiple commercial exits

The Team
The Board

Tracy M. Woody - President & Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Woody has served as a member of the Board of Esperion Therapeutics since May 2019. Ms. Woody previously served as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ: PTGX) from April 2020 to July 2022. Ms. Woody previously served as Chief Commercial Officer of Versartis, Inc. from 2017 to 2018 and KemPharm, Inc. from 2015 to 2016. Prior to KemPharm, Ms. Woody was Vice President of Sales and Marketing of NextWave Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), and Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Greer Laboratories. Ms. Woody currently serves as a board member of Shorla Pharma. Ms. Woody has over 25 years of commercial experience in pharmaceuticals, biologics, and medical devices, across a wide range of therapeutic areas in diverse markets. Ms. Woody also has experience with multi-billion dollar revenue brands as well as products in the rare disease space. Ms. Woody holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Applied Physiology from East Carolina University.

The Team

Andrew C. Barrett, Ph.D. - Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Andrew Barrett has over 25 years of experience in academia and industry and is widely regarded as an expert in CNS pharmacology and therapeutics. Dr. Barrett earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship in Addiction at Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital, where he conducted research on medications development for Substance Use Disorders. Dr. Barrett received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to complete both his doctoral and postdoctoral training and remains passionate about identifying and developing candidate medications for Substance Use Disorders. Prior to joining Cessation, Dr. Barrett held positions of increasing seniority at Cephalon (acquired by Teva in 2011), Synchrony Healthcare, Salix Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Valeant in 2015), and KemPharm. Dr. Barrett has published over 40 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, focusing primarily on the abuse-related effects of opioids, stimulants, and other drugs.

Paul Bremer, Ph.D. - Research and Development Director

As a passionate scientist, Dr. Bremer is committed to the discovery and advancement of innovative drug candidates that have the potential to effectively treat patients suffering from diseases. In 2018, Dr. Bremer joined Cessation Therapeutics to pursue the research and development of anti-drug addiction immunotherapies and has established Cessation as a resident company at the JLabs San Diego biotech incubator. Such a role is a continuation of the scientific projects that he worked on as a graduate student in Dr. Kim Janda’s laboratory at the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). Here under a research fellowship from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dr. Bremer helped pioneer vaccines and antibodies that combat the effects of some of the deadliest opioids such as fentanyl and heroin. This work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Bremer continues a collaborative position at TSRI and also held a scientist position at Vertex Pharma. In addition to his PhD from TSRI, Dr. Bremer has a BA in chemistry from Colgate University. Paul’s publications can be found here.

Nicholas Jacob, Ph.D. - Senior Research Scientist

Dr. Jacob joined Cessation Therapeutics in 2019 as a PhD graduate from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). He worked in the research group of Dr. Kim Janda as an NIH Clinical Translation Science Award (CTSA) fellow on the preclinical development of new adjuvant strategies for substance use vaccines and antibody optimization. Dr. Jacob has published extensively on this research work in the improvement of nicotine and cocaine vaccines. He also has extensive experience in grant writing and securing funding through this mechanism. His focus on brining translational aspects of research to the bench will be fundamental in accelerating products to market efficiently for Cessation. In addition to his PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from TSRI, Nick holds a BS in chemistry from the University of Rochester. Nick’s publications can be found here.

Joshua Sills - Operations

Mr. Sills is the VP of Operations of Dialectic Therapeutics, a biotech company dedicated to the development of unique, impactful anti-cancer drugs that effectively treat patients with few to no other options. Mr. Sills has 15 years of experience in technical operations, project management, and leading teams on location and remotely while working in over seventy countries. Mr. Sills earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems from Florida State University.

Mark E. Pearson - Co-Founder & Board Member

Mark is the Founder and CEO of Altamont Pharma Holdings as well as a General Partner of Annex Ventures. Mark has been investing in startup Life Science and Technology companies for over 20 years.
Mark is the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board of Drawbridge Realty, a San Francisco based real estate development and investment company, which owns over 6 million square feet of commercial real estate leased to Technology and Life Science companies predominantly in the western United States. Drawbridge Realty's portfolio exceeds $2.5 billion in asset value. In December 2014, Drawbridge Realty formed a partnership with international asset management firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, LP (“KKR”) which made a significant investment in the company to substantially grow the platform.
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John D. Harkey, Jr. - Co-Founder & Board Member

Mr. Harkey was Co-Founder and formerly Executive Chairman of the Board of AveXis, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVXS), acquired by Novartis in 2018 for $8.7 billion), which develops proprietary gene therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases. John has over 25 years of experience as a private investor, chief executive and director in both public and private companies. He has merged, acquired, operated and/or served on the board of directors of eight public companies in biotech, energy, technology, aerospace, telecom and restaurants, and private companies in healthcare, real estate, farm and ranch products and software. He previously served nine years on the Board of Directors of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation.
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The Board

Jay Shepard - Board Member

Mr. Shepard served as Executive Chairman of Versartis, Inc., from December 2013 to 2015. In May 2015, Mr. Shepard joined Versartis as President and CEO. In 2018, Versartis merged with Aravive (NASDAQ: ARAV), and he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2018 to January 2020, when he retired.
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Sharon Tetlow - Board Member

Ms. Tetlow has served as Managing Partner of Potrero Hill Advisors since January 2016. Potrero Hill Advisors provides strategic and operational financial support to life science companies through its team of chief financial officers and controllers.
Ms. Tetlow was previously the Managing Director of Danforth Advisors from April 2013 to January 2016. She served as Chief Financial Officer of Pathwork Diagnostics, Inc, a privately held biotechnology company, from 2011 to 2013. From 2005 to 2009, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Cell Genesys, Inc.(CEGE) a publicly traded biotechnology company.
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Daniel Fine - Board Member

Daniel Fine is currently Managing Director of West Summit Investments, in Dallas, Texas. West Summit is a private investment company with an emphasis on biotech and interests in banking and real estate. Over the previous 10 years, Mr. Fine was a Director and EVP of two-family offices with a focus on Real Estate, Oil and Gas, and Private Equity investing. Prior to the private investment business, he spent six years working for the Hicks Sports Marketing Group as the Vice President of Sales for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Senior Vice President of the Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
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In Memoriam: Dr. David Genecov, M. D. - Co-Founder, Former Chief Medical Officer & Board Member

Dr. David Genecov is a dedicated physician in the field of cleft lip and palate, craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgery. David has over 25 years of experience as a practicing surgeon, private investor, chief executive and director in both public and private companies. Dr. Genecov was Co-Founder and former director of AveXis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVXS), acquired by Novartis in 2018 for $8.7 billion, which develops proprietary gene therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases. David also founded or co-founded numerous companies in the health care industry, including Skin Within, Inc., Synergy Surgical Services LLC, Biolife Cell Bank LLC and is the owner and director of The Modern Medical Spa. He was a director and investor of CerSci Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company using non opioid approaches to treat pain, which was sold to Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) in 2020 for up to $940 million. David is a director and co-founder of Cessation Therapeutics, Inc., a company based on the treatment of substance use disorders with monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. Currently, Dr. Genecov serves as the President and CEO of Dialectic Therapeutics, Inc., a Dallas-based precision oncology company using innovative new protein degradation technologies to treat cancer.
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Mark E. Pearson - Co-Founder & Board Member

Mark is the Founder and CEO of Altamont Pharma Holdings as well as a General Partner of Annex Ventures. Mark has been investing in startup Life Science and Technology companies for over 20 years. Mark is the Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board of Drawbridge Realty, a San Francisco based real estate development and investment company, which owns over 6 million square feet of commercial real estate leased to Technology and Life Science companies predominantly in the western United States. Drawbridge Realty’s portfolio exceeds $2.5 billion in asset value. In December 2014, Drawbridge Realty formed a partnership with international asset management firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, LP (“KKR”) which made a significant investment in the company to substantially grow the platform. Mark serves on the Board of Directors of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, a world-renowned biomedical research institute employing over 2,400 scientists and support staff. Scripps Research Institute has created 80+ spin-off biotech companies, 10 FDA approved drugs, and currently has 30 drugs in its pipeline. Mark was the founding donor of The Pearson Center for Addiction Research, which was founded in 2003 on The Scripps Research Institute campus in La Jolla, California by Mark Pearson, Dr. George Koob, Ph.D., and Dr. Barbara Mason, Ph.D. Mark was the Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Board member of CRESA Partners, a corporate real estate services firm, and was instrumental in building CRESA into a 57-office national company. In 2015, he sold his interest in CRESA to Savills plc, a $2.4 billion international real estate firm with over 700 offices and 35,000 employees worldwide. Mark earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of San Francisco and a Masters degree in Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he was a Sloan Fellow.

John D. Harkey, Jr. - Co-Founder & Board Member

Mr. Harkey was Co-Founder and formerly Executive Chairman of the Board of AveXis, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVXS), acquired by Novartis in 2018 for $8.7 billion), which develops proprietary gene therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases. John has over 25 years of experience as a private investor, chief executive and director in both public and private companies. He has merged, acquired, operated and/or served on the board of directors of eight public companies in biotech, energy, technology, aerospace, telecom and restaurants, and private companies in healthcare, real estate, farm and ranch products and software. He previously served nine years on the Board of Directors of the Baylor Health Care System Foundation. He is formerly the Chairman of the Board of Regency Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:RGP, sold to Energy Transfer for $18 billion) has served on the Board of Directors of Energy Transfer Equity, LP (NYSE: ETE, market cap $20 billion) and Energy Transfer Partners, LP (NYSE: ETP, market cap $21 billion). He previously served on the Board of Directors of Loral Space & Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:LORL) which merged with Telesat Canada in 2021. He formerly served on the Board of Directors of Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:EMIS) which was acquired by Novo Nordisk, and formerly served on the Board of Directors of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ:LEAP), which was acquired by AT&T for $4.1 billion. Mr. Harkey was Co-Founder and investor in CerSci Therapeutics, Inc., which was acquired by Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ACAD) in 2020 for up to $940 million. Mr. Harkey serves as Consolidated Restaurant Companies, Inc.’s (CRC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is the majority shareholder of privately-held CRC. CRC has more than 100 full-service restaurants including franchise restaurants and employs over 5,000 people in 18 states and in the UK, UAE and Saudi Arabia. CRC serves approximately 14 million meals per year. Philanthropically, he serves on the Board of Directors of The University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, the University of Texas Development Board and is Past Chairman of the McCombs School of Business Advisory Board at the University of Texas, Austin. He serves on the President’s Development Council at Howard Payne University and the Executive Board of Circle Ten Council of the Boy Scouts of America, where he is a recipient of the Silver Beaver Award and the Distinguished Eagle. His commitment to Scouting was recognized in 2017 at the Boy Scout National Jamboree, Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia, for his philanthropic gift establishing the John D. Harkey, Jr. X-Zone for High Adventure. Mr. Harkey grew up in Brownwood, Texas, obtained a B.B.A. in Business Honors and a J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from Stanford University School of Business. He enjoys hunting, travel, and golf and won the AT&T Pebble Beach Celebrity Pro-Am in 2014.

Jay Shepard - Board Member

Mr. Shepard served as Executive Chairman of Versartis, Inc., from December 2013 to 2015. In May 2015, Mr. Shepard joined Versartis as President and CEO. In 2018, Versartis merged with Aravive (NASDAQ: ARAV), and he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2018 to January 2020, when he retired. From 2008 to 2015, Mr. Shepard was an Executive Partner at Sofinnova Ventures. Previously, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of NextWave Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Pfizer), President and Chief Executive Officer of Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen), interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Relypsa (Ilypsa’s spin-out company, which was acquired by Galencia), and Vice President of Commercial Operations at Telik and Oncology Business Unit Head of Alza Pharmaceuticals (Alza was acquired by Johnson & Johnson). He has over 35 years of experience in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and drug delivery arenas. He has participated in or led over 16 product launches by preparing markets and establishing sales and marketing operations. Mr. Shepard currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Vice Chair at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: INO), and Director at Ironwood and Esperion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Mr. Shepard is an operating partner at Catalys Pacific, a venture group focused on licensing drug programs and creating new companies in the US and Japan. He currently serves on two of their boards -Pathalys (founder) and Aculys. Mr. Shepard holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Arizona.

Sharon Tetlow - Board Member

Ms. Tetlow has served as Managing Partner of Potrero Hill Advisors since January 2016. Potrero Hill Advisors provides strategic and operational financial support to life science companies through its team of chief financial officers and controllers. Ms. Tetlow was previously the Managing Director of Danforth Advisors from April 2013 to January 2016. She served as Chief Financial Officer of Pathwork Diagnostics, Inc, a privately held biotechnology company, from 2011 to 2013. From 2005 to 2009, she served as Chief Financial Officer of Cell Genesys, Inc.(CEGE) a publicly traded biotechnology company. In connection with her role as managing partner of Potrero Hill Advisors, Ms. Tetlow has led the finance function at several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, including 4D Molecular Therapeutics Inc, and Ocera Therapeutics, Inc., two privately held companies and Allakos, Inc. and CytomX, Inc., two publicly traded companies. Ms. Tetlow was previously on the Board of Directors of Armetheon, Inc, a privately held company. Ms. Tetlow currently serves on the Board of Catalyst Biosciences (NASDAQ: CBIO). Ms. Tetlow holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Delaware and a Masters degree in Business from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Daniel Fine - Board Member

Daniel Fine is currently Managing Director of West Summit Investments, in Dallas, Texas. West Summit is a private investment company with an emphasis on biotech and interests in banking and real estate. Over the previous 10 years, Mr. Fine was a Director and EVP of two-family offices with a focus on Real Estate, Oil and Gas, and Private Equity investing. Prior to the private investment business, he spent six years working for the Hicks Sports Marketing Group as the Vice President of Sales for the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Senior Vice President of the Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mr. Fine began his career in telecom in 1990 with American Telco, which sold to Dobson Communications in 1998 for $125MM. His next telecom venture came with Fairpoint Communications (FRPT), which included the acquisition of 30+ rural telephone companies across the US and a significant capital partnership with TH Lee Partners. He grew Fairpoint’s Competitive Local Exchange Carrier strategy to $125MM within the first 18 months and expanded into 250+ tier 3 and 4 markets across the US. Mr. Fine is an investing partner in 50+ LP investments varying in size and scope. He is also an investor in four private equity funds and has sourced three PE buyouts. He has served on the boards of both public and private companies, as well as philanthropic boards. Mr. Fine lives in Dallas with his wife Stephanie and their three children. He is an avid sportsman spending his free time playing tennis and golf, coaching his sons in their sports or fishing with his kids on their family farm. He also is an active member of the Annual Fund Board at Temple Emanu‐El Dallas where his family has been members for over 100 years. Mr. Fine attended both Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, Texas) and Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas) on baseball scholarships, where he studied business.

In Memoriam: Dr. David Genecov, M. D. - Co-Founder, Former Chief Medical Officer & Board Member

Dr. David Genecov is a dedicated physician in the field of cleft lip and palate, craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgery. David has over 25 years of experience as a practicing surgeon, private investor, chief executive and director in both public and private companies. Dr. Genecov was Co-Founder and former director of AveXis, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVXS), acquired by Novartis in 2018 for $8.7 billion, which develops proprietary gene therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases. David also founded or co-founded numerous companies in the health care industry, including Skin Within, Inc., Synergy Surgical Services LLC, Biolife Cell Bank LLC and is the owner and director of The Modern Medical Spa. He was a director and investor of CerSci Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company using non opioid approaches to treat pain, which was sold to Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) in 2020 for up to $940 million. David is a director and co-founder of Cessation Therapeutics, Inc., a company based on the treatment of substance use disorders with monoclonal antibodies and vaccines. Currently, Dr. Genecov serves as the President and CEO of Dialectic Therapeutics, Inc., a Dallas-based precision oncology company using innovative new protein degradation technologies to treat cancer. A 4th generation Texan, Dr. Genecov graduated from the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin (1985). David began his medical education at the University of Texas-Health San Antonio (1990) and then completed residencies in General Surgery at West Virginia University (1995) and in Plastic Surgery at Wake Forest University (1997). Dr. Genecov completed fellowship training in Craniofacial Surgery at the International Craniofacial Institute where he is now the director and owner. He is published in over 50 peer reviewed journals, books and videos. His research interests are in bone regeneration, stem cell therapies and new treatments for complex craniofacial anomalies. He is an adjunct associate professor at Baylor College of Dentistry at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and teaches residents and graduate students about cleft lip and palate and craniofacial surgery. Dr. Genecov maintains American Board of Medical Specialties board certificates in plastic and reconstructive surgery. David has served as a trustee at St. Mark’s School of Texas, where he was also chairman of the Education Committee and on the Executive Committee. Additionally, he has served as a director for the Dallas Jewish Federation, Congregation Shearith Israel, and The DISD PTECH advisory Board. Dr. Genecov currently serves on the Plan II Visiting Committee, College of Liberal Arts Advisory Board, The Development Board and the Chancellor’s Executive Committee, all at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a director at the Dallas Opera where he sits on the Executive Committee. Dr. Genecov is a member of the Executive Advisory Council at the George Bush Presidential Center. David has been recognized for his medical and philanthropic service by the Dallas Chapter of Hadassah, The Bnai Zion Foundation, D Magazine, Texas Monthly, Consumer Choice Awards, DFW Alliance for Healthcare Excellence, The Dallas Jewish Historical Society, The Torah Day School, Bryan’s House and the Be the Difference Foundation.